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Na Koa Ikaika Maui Trip to Japan Deemed a Success

September 17, 2012 - North American League (NAmL)
Strong Warriors of Maui News Release


Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, September 15, 2012 - The Valley Isle's only professional sports team, Na Koa Ikaika Maui, have returned from a successful tour of Japan. The team played well during their historic exhibition series, splitting the games 1-1. The impetus for the trip was returning the favor of the Million Stars visit to Maui in early July of this season as well as meeting with the leaders of Japan's BCL to discuss taking this relationship to the next level. Many "firsts" were achieved during the trip. KAOI AM 1110 created radio history by broadcasting the games locally (and streaming them online) on the same days that they were played, through the use of cutting edge technology. Archives of those broadcasts can be found at MauiProBaseball.com. The entire trip was documented on video by Dream Tyme Films.

The Ishikawa Million Stars is a Japanese semi-professional baseball team, established in 2007. They compete in the Baseball Challenge League (BCL), an independent professional league in Japan. The BCL is comprised of six (6) teams between two (2) divisions; the Hokuriku Division, which consists of teams from Ishikawa, Fukui and Toyama and the Shinetsu Division, consisting of teams from Niigata, Gunma and Nagano.

During the four (4) day trip, the Executive Team from Hawaii Baseball LLC (Owner Bob Young, CEO David Andrus and COO Chris Osgood) met with the owners of the six (6) teams in the BCL no less than five (5) times to discuss opportunities for the 2013 Season. An agreement was reached between Hawaii Baseball LLC and the Baseball Challenge League of Japan for inter-league play in 2013 while working towards the creation of a "World Independent Baseball League." Teams from the BCL committed to come to Hawaii in 2013 to play against Na Koa Ikaika on Maui as well as the Hawaii Stars on the Big Island and Hawaii Baseball LLC committed to return to Japan to play against those same teams at their home stadiums. The official paperwork solidifying the deal is presently in the hands of the attorneys. Additionally, both groups agreed to a groundbreaking arrangement whereby both leagues may trade and/or exchange players between and in turn, provide players in both leagues the opportunity to play worldwide. This arrangement should allow both leagues the ability to attract the best talent. Other potential synergies are being discussed as well. All in all, the trip was a complete success and has laid the foundation for many other potential co-operative opportunities. Photos and videos of the trip will be available shortly on both MauiProBaseball.com and HawaiiStarsProBaseball.com.

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